Rules of the 2021 Massarosa International Piano Competition

Art. 1. The eleventh Massarosa Piano Competition is open to young pianists of all nationalities born on or after May 30, 1991, and it will take place entirely on-line. The participants must record 2 videos and submit them before May 25, 2021. Starting from June 1, 2021 the videos of the first round will be available on this web site. The result of the first round will be published on June 6, 2021. Starting from June 7, the videos of the participants admitted to the second round will be available on the site. The result of the competition will be published on June 9.

Art.2. Applications must be completed, with all the details requested, on the form available at the site www.associazionemusicalemassarosa.eu, and must be submitted no later than May 25, 2021.  A non-refundable admission fee of €100.00 must be paid to “Associazione Musicale Massarosa”  either

  • by payPal or credit card, using the payment function  the admission form, or
  • via bank transfer to the following coordinates:
  • Bank Name: CARIGE
    Branch: Via Spada Cenami 6/8 Massarosa
    Address: Via Spada Cenami 6/8,  55054 Massarosa (LU)
    Swift code: CRGEITGG
    Account number: 80824680
    Account name:
    Associazione Musicale Massarosa
    IBAN code: IT79Z0617570170000080824680

The following documents must be supplied with the application form:

  1. A legal document (in digital format) stating the applicant’s date of birth and nationality. Please upload a file in JPG, PNG or PDF format of no more than 2,5 MB.
  2. Copy of the receipt of payment of the entrance fee (in case the payment has not been made via payPal). Please upload a file in JPG, PNG or PDF format of no more than 2,5 MB.
  3. A complete programme of the music chosen to be performed. Two videos must be submitted, one per each round of the competition, as specified in art. 5.
  4. A curriculum vitae  (1000 characters maximum).
  5. A recent photograph of good resolution in portrait format. Please upload a file in JPG or PNG format of no more than 2,5 MB.

Candidates will not be admitted to the competition unless payment and all documents have been received.

Art. 3. Contestants admitted to the competition must abide by the competition rules. The Italian text of the rules is definitive. With his application the contestant consent, according to D.L. 30/06/2001 n.196, with the publication of his personal dates for promotional and artistic purposes.

Art. 4. If necessary, the competition board will limit the number of participants on the basis of the date of application. In this case, the entrance fee will be returned to those not allowed to participate.

Art.5. The program’s pieces must be recorded on videos allowing to see clearly both the whole person of the player and the position of his hands. The recordings must be uploaded on a Youtube channel belonging to the participant, and the link to the video pages must be inserted in the relevant fields in the application form.

Art.6 From the moment of the admission to the competition it will not be possible to modify the information contained in the application form. It will also not be allowed to modify the uploaded videos after this moment.

Art. 7. All works performed must be played from memory. No works may be repeated during subsequent stages. Repeats may be included or omitted at the applicant’s discretion.

Art. 8. A member of the jury is not allowed to present candidates with whom he had a teaching relationship in the last two years.
All jury members will submit a statement regarding their relation to any of the competitors, before the beginning of the competition.

Art. 9. The jury consists of five eminent musicians representing different countries. The decisions of the jury will be final and beyond appeal. 

Art. 10. Admission from one stage to another is decided by simple majority vote. The admission to the final is voted by points. The number of competitors entering each stage will be decided by the jury.

Art. 11. The jury may award ex-aequo prizes, or may decide to award no prizes in case of none of the candidates’ being deemed worthy.

Art.12 Regarding all matters not covered by this document, it will be the president of the Jury to take any decision, also regarding the interpretation of the text of the rules, for the interpretation of which the Italian text is authentic.

PROGRAMME
The programme to be played in the whole of the two rounds of the competition must include:  

  • at least one work composed in the 18th century (i.e. 1700),
  • at least one work composed in the 19th century (i.e.1800),
  • and at least one work composed in the 20th or 21st century (i.e. 1900 or 2000).

N.B. A piece is considered as belonging to a century looking at the date of composition of the piece.

First round
Compositions of contestant’s choice
(total duration approximately 15/20 minutes).
The execution will be video recorded and uploaded on YouTube, and the link of the video’s page must be input in the field “first round-link to youtube video” in the application form.

Second Round
Compositions of contestant’s choice
(total duration 35/40 minutes).
The execution will be video recorded and uploaded on YouTube, and the link of the video’s page must be input in the field “second round-link to youtube video” in the application form.

PRIZES
1st Prize: Euros 5000,00
2nd Prize: Euros 2500,00
3rd Prize: Euros 1500,00

Some concerts, already agreed upon with some musical associations, will be awarded to the prize winners.